Service For Shippers News

As part of their mission to improve services for shippers moving cargo between the US Gulf Coast, Jamaica, and ports in Ecuador, Peru and Chile, Seaboard Marine and BBC Chartering are pleased to announce a new strategic cooperation which will be marketed as “Andino Service.”A press release from the international shipping company based in Leer, Germany said that beginning as early as November 2018, BBC and the ocean transportation service provider in North America Seaboard Marine  will will operate a string of at least five vessels dedicated to serving these trade lanes.This cooperative space sharing arrangement improves the value proposition of both parties as it offers shippers higher frequency…

A new short-sea container service between Amsterdam and Hull has been formally inaugurated with the first call of the 340-TEU vessel THEA II at Amsterdam Container Terminal (ACT). The new service, operated by leading short sea container operator Samskip, offers three sailings a week on this new route with vessels departing from Amsterdam on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Commenting on the new service, Clemence Cheng, Managing Director of Hutchison Ports Europe, said: “Amsterdam Container Terminal offers shipping lines the opportunity to serve their customers in a fast, efficient, reliable and sustainable manner. ACT is operated by TMA Logistics in which Hutchison Ports is a 50% shareholder.

France-based CMA CGM today announced a new direct weekly container service to Asia from the Port of New Orleans Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal. Part of the company’s PEX3 service, the inaugural vessel is scheduled to arrive on January 31 for service by terminal operator Ports America. “CMA CGM is proud to be expanding our presence in New Orleans, further showing our commitment to the Gulf region, and Louisiana specifically. We look forward to continued growth in the region, and are pleased to be contributing to the evolution and development of this vital hub. In the U.S., the Group now offers a global coverage with 23 services in and out of North America to over 150 countries around the world,” said Marc Bourdon, CMA CGM America LLC President.

The world of AIS can be confusing to newcomers and experienced professionals alike. What is AIS? What data does it gather? How can it help my business? Do I need AIS if I don’t have a business? Class A or Class B transponders? Do I actually need it? There’s a plethora of questions from those looking to get the most out of their tracking tools, or from those looking into entering the maritime industry. The following is a comprehensive guide to AIS that covers a wide range of topics from specific AIS units to getting the most out of the data gathered.

A Transpacific shipping route linking Asia and the U.S. will add weekly Port of Oakland stops beginning in November. The Port said that  Oakland will become the sixth stop in the service operated by three Asian shipping lines. The service, known as the Calco-C, connects ports in Vietnam, China and California. It’s expected to bring an additional 50 vessel arrivals to Oakland annually. That could increase Oakland cargo volume by as much as 30,000 20-foot-containers a year. The Port handled the equivalent of 2.28 million 20-foot containers last year. Volume growth could lead to more cargo-handling jobs in Oakland, the Port said. “For the benefit of our customers and our community we’re pleased to be joining this service,” said Maritime Director John Driscoll.

Container barge service is back on the upper Columbia and Snake rivers.The Up river Container Barge-Rail Shuttle will help importers and exporters in eastern Washington, Oregon and Idaho move containerized agricultural products to markets in Asia. An informal partnership including Northwest Container Service, Tidewater Barge and the ports of Morrow, Lewiston and Portland helped facilitate the return of this service. The first barge is currently loading at the Port of Lewiston this week and expected to get underway Thursday. The new service would address key issues driving up the cost of transportation in the wake of losing direct carrier service at Terminal 6 in Portland earlier this year— loss of barge service, container availability and cost of trucking to Puget Sound ports.

In order to offer a more comprehensive service to shippers and importers in the Philippines, Evergreen Line will team up with Cheng Lie Navigation(CNC) to launch the new China-Philippines Service (CPH). Two ships around 1,000 TEU will be deployed on the new weekly service, each operated by the joint service partners. Shanghai - Ningbo - Xiamen - Shekou - Manila (South harbor) -Shanghai. The new service is in addition to the four feeder loops, which Evergreen offers serving the Philippines. This comprehensive coverage of all major ports in the Philippines, includes Manila (both north and south harbors), Cebu, Davao and General Santos, etc. All services connect to Evergreen's global network via either Kaohsiung and/or Hong Kong.

It is impossible to view the global container shipping business without looking at it through the prism of vessel capacity being added to the market. What happens over the next two years will be a direct result of the glut of newbuildings that are flooding into service and wrecking freight rates. Just consider these numbers. During the first four months of 2013, Alphaliner puts the new containership deliveries at 496,000 TEUs. According to data supplied by PR News Service ComPort, almost 250,000 TEUs of that will be comprised of vessels with a nominal capacity of 10,000 TEUs and up.

Largest Construction Project in Decade, Improves Service for Shippers. The Port of Cleveland held a ribbon-cutting today to mark the launch of a new rail loop that will provide better and more efficient service at the port, and improve access to markets throughout North America. “We needed to reinvent the way the Port connects shippers to railroads,” said Port CEO Will Friedman. Slightly more than a mile long, the rail loop connects the two sides of the port’s rail system for the first time, allowing cargo to move on either CSX or Norfolk Southern, the two Class 1 railroads that serve the port. The loop doubles the port’s rail capacity and will give more shippers opportunities to use the Port to transport larger volumes to more markets.

Maersk Line's 'Maersk Illinois' makes her first homeport call in Norfolk, Virginia. The call in Norfolk affirmed the value of the Maersk-Rickmers heavy-lift service and brought together customers and constituents who rely on and support U.S. flag shipping. In May 2012, Congress reauthorized the Export-Import Bank’s charter to finance American exports and in doing so upheld U.S. cargo preference laws. The reauthorization helps maintain a stable business environment for capital investments, like the acquisition of Maersk Illinois and her sister ship, Maersk Texas.

Maersk Line, Limited Brings the First of Two Project Cargo Ships Under the U.S. Flag. Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) completed the reflagging under U.S. registry of the MAERSK ILLINOIS, its newest multipurpose heavy-lift vessel. The ship is one of two sister vessels that MLL acquired in September 2011 and which will sail for Maersk-Rickmers U.S. Flag Project Carrier (Maersk-Rickmers), providing breakbulk and project cargo service for shippers requiring U.S. flag service. Maersk-Rickmers was jointly formed for this purpose by MLL and Rickmers-Linie (America).

Maersk Line, Limited and Rickmers-Linie (America), Inc. announced a partnership to provide breakbulk and project cargo shipping using two newly-built multi-purpose ships to be operated under the U.S. flag. The partnership brings together the complementary capabilities of the two companies to offer customers a new option for moving large and heavy cargoes worldwide. Customers seeking heavy-lift multipurpose vessels under the U.S. flag will benefit from this partnership. The new 19…

The Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay, a not for profit trade association representing the interests of maritime-related businesses in the tri-state region, announced the completion of a major project to convert its community based port information software to a new Internet-based platform. Known as Maritime On-Line (MOL), the system includes a collection of applications to assist maritime and law enforcement personnel with the day-to-day operations of vessel, cargo, and crew processing through U.S. seaports. The Maritime Exchange has been in the business of tracking vessel movements on the Delaware River since it was formed in 1872.

Two of Evalend Shipping Co. S.A. newly purchased logger ships, the Ambassador and the Senator, have been placed in the Lasco Logger Pool. Evalend, a private management company in Athens, Greece, operates ten ships in its fleet, committed two Hakodate built loggers to the Pool, which is commercially managed by Lasco. Evalend will perform its own technical management of its vessels. In commenting on the announcement, Anton U. Pardini, President/COO of Lasco, said that EVALEND’S participation in the Pool “…reflects Lasco’s ongoing efforts to establish strategic partnerships with other maritime ventures who share a common vision and philosophy…

Marks & Spencer joined other multinationals from North America, Asia and Europe which have found in Drewry’s 150 sets of port region-to-port region container freight rates a valuable source of pricing benchmarks to help their transport procurement decisions. Due to the launch of the global container freight rate benchmarks and associated regional and global freight rate indices, Drewry is making the unique, industry-first freight rate data available on-line to subscribers at www.containerbenchmarks.com. This interactive on-line database provides current and historical market-based container freight rate benchmarks for multiple trade routes and port pairs. The rate benchmarks are based on averages of rates paid by shippers to freight forwarders.